GEOGRAPHICAL PHASES OF FARM PRICES I OATS. 11 
PRICE ZONES FLEXIBLE. 
In concluding the brief summary of a few of the more general facts 
concerning regional price differences it appears necessary to direct 
attention to the changeable character of the price zones. The price 
differences as charted on Maps 1 and 2 represent the usual conditions 
as established by averages for the five years 1910 to 1914. These 
averages, which are based upon average prices for individual counties, 
indicate price zones which are fairly definite, but whose boundaries 
and price averages are subject to change. Unusual harvest or market 
conditions may change the price in one section as compared with 
another. Especially is this true for comparatively isolated sections, 
which are somewhat out of line with general trade currents. How- 
ever, a comparison of the prices of many hundreds of counties during 
1910-1914 shows that in individual years the price zones were substan- 
tially the same as those based upon the average prices of the five years. 
SECTIONAL PRICE RATIOS CHANGING WITH ECONOMIC TRANSFORMA- 
TIONS. 
The differences in price between one region and another, as indi- 
cated by the five-year averages in Table 5, reflect economic conditions 
that are changing; and the character of these changes in economic 
conditions since 1871-1875 are to a considerable extent indicated by the 
varying difference in price in one section as compared with another. 
Transportation costs have declined greatly; other distributive ex- 
penses have dropped also; areas which formerly produced sufficient 
quantities for local needs must now bring in supplies. Sectional 
price differences have narrowed notably. The farmers' price of oats 
has become lower in areas of insufficient production, coincident with 
cheaper transportation from regions of surplus; on the other hand, 
prices have increased in areas of surplus production. 
RETROSPECTIVE VIEW, 1871 TO 1915. 
CHANGES IN REGIONAL PRICE DIFFERENCES. 
In Table 5 the regional differences in the price of oats during the 
period 1871 to 1915 can be observed. The center of oat production 
has shifted to the west and north. The minimum farm price of oats 
has followed in the same direction. In the period 1871-1875 the 
lowest farm price appeared in Iowa, in 1882-1886 in Nebraska, and 
in 1911-1915 in North Dakota. The farm price in Massachusetts 
was 34 cents higher than in Iowa in 1871-1875, but only 18 cents 
higher in 1911-1915. In the surplus-producing North Central 
States, west of the Mississippi River, prices have increased, abso- 
lutely as well as relatively, but in the areas of insufficient production 
in the Southern and Mountain States prices have declined. Ten- 
dencies can best be followed through the percentage based upon the 
average for the United States at each period taken as 100 per cent. 
Details follow in Table 5. 
